(NaturalNews) The shutdown of the American economy has begun. Today Chrysler announced it would shutter 100% of its factories for one month as it seeks bailout money from the Federal Reserve. The Fed, meanwhile, slashes its interest rates to zero, even while promising to print unlimited trillions of new dollars in order to "save" the U.S. economy. Meanwhile, the state of California has announced it would halt all infrastructure projects (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/u...), meaning that the construction and maintenance of bridges, roads and schools will be abandoned until new money can be found. On the same day, the U.S. dollar plummeted to a 13-year low against the Yen. Investors around the world are realizing the dollar is doomed, and they're increasingly betting against it. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?...) Earlier this week, an important international meeting of heads of state was held in Latin America. The most notable fact about this meeting is that the USA was not invited. The power and influence of the United States of America is rapidly plummeting, and the closing down of Chrysler's factories is a major warning sign that the U.S. economy, which has long operated on financial vapor, has begun an unprecedented reconfiguration that could mean the end of the dollar as a world currency and the final gutting of America's long-doomed manufacturing industry. Why the health of the People determines the fate of the economy In other countries, workers are willing to work for less money, executives are aggressive and well educated, and companies aren't burdened with out-of-control health care costs that have been enforced by the Big Pharma / FDA conspiracy that seeks to keep Americans diseased and medicated. The upshot is that, in many ways, America can no longer compete on the world stage, and it is now suffering the predictable effects of an economy built on mass consumer poisoning and the continuation of disease. I've been warning NaturalNews readers about this for years, insisting that the disease economy would spell the economic doom of the nation. I am the original author of the story "The Town of Allopath" (http://www.naturalnews.com/008674.html), which describes the economic destruction of a town that tries to base its economy on disease. Dr. Joe Mercola used the story to create an animation that is now quite famous on the 'net. I'm also the creator of the Business is Booming cartoon (http://www.naturalnews.com/021218.html), which paints the same picture of economic destruction from a different point of view. What does health have to do with Chrysler and the U.S. economy? Everything! When a nation bases its medical system on disease and profits rather than health and abundance, that nation has no economic future. The demise of Chrysler and GM, for example, is due in large part to health issues. It's not just that health care costs are bankrupting the companies, it's also that diseased, medicated workers have poor productivity, a high number of missed work days, poor cognitive function, slow recovery time after injury and are in every way lower-quality workers. A healthy employee is a productive and happier employee. An unhealthy employee is an expensive, non-productive burden on any company.